History
History ' The history of Chromoria can be divided into two eras. The first era is known as the Ancient Era (AE) and takes place before the Sundering (when Vencaeli and Orlen were torn from the earth). The second era, known as the Common Era (CE) begins at the Sundering and continues to the present. Some talk among academics has been made to begin a new era, with the return of Vencaeli, but nothing has been done about it yet. '''Ancient Era (prehistoric times to year 0 CE) ' Most of what is known of the Ancient Era comes from religious records. It is understood that civilization was relatively advanced and very closely connected with each race’s main God, and that Oria took an active role in the world. The Guardians had not yet been born or created at this point. These religious texts discuss events from the late Ancient Era as well as the early Common Era. Their veracity is often called into question. The texts may be counterfeits from a later time or imperfect translations from Ancient Orian. Also, as religious texts, the stories may be embellished or downright apocryphal. However, it is all we have to go on, so though it must be taken with a grain of salt, it is to be taken anyway. It is widely believed, though not proven, that the Ancient Era lasted for 2,000 years. Therefore, 2,000 years before 0 CE is considered 0 AE. In the year 0 AE, it is said that Oria created the world and the 5 main gods. They lived in harmony for most of that time. Around the year 1,500 AE, the central region of Chromoria, located east of the Jasbyrn Mountains, is mentioned as being inhabited by a strange looking race. The texts make them seem to have almost spontaneously generated, but the spotty record makes it unclear if this is really true. By 1,800 AE, texts reveal hostility between the people of central Chromoria and the other races. By 1,900 AE it is thought that a full-scale war had begun. In circa 1,998 AE, ascended members of each race are mentioned to have met for peace talks despite continued war. These are the first mention of the Guardians, and it is unclear whether they were originally normal members of their race or specifically created by Oria or the other gods. The peace talks clearly were not successful, as war took a particularly ugly turn and defeat and genocide looked eminent for the new people of central Chromoria (now known as the Altomines). In the year 2,000 AE, aka 0 CE, Oria made his final active decision on Chromoria. Thus the Sundering occurred, as Oria wrenched two continents from the ground and lifted them high into the sky. One was the sacred realm of Orlen in the southwest. The other became known as Vencaeli, the home of the Altomines, whose patron deity became Ctenubem. 'Common Era (0 CE-Present Day) ' The Sundering had immediate and far-reaching effects on all of Chromoria that took thousands of years to recover from. As would be expected, ripping continents out of the earth caused various natural disasters that left civilization in tatters. The Sundering was also accompanied by various plagues that had never been seen before that further depleted the world’s population. ' Massive waves and whirlpools appeared in the ocean, destroying entire navies, coastlines, and floating cities. Much of eormen civilization was thus wiped out.' ' As half of Jasbyrn was lifted into the skies, the other mountains in the range suffered from earthquakes and cave-ins of entire cities. Zemy resilience allowed the culture to survive, but it was still a massive blow, and most major cities were destroyed.' ' Codenwellt, located directly south of the newly formed Umbra, had massive weather fluctuations that caused years of long winter then long draughts, fires, storms, and firestorms. The forest would take more than a hundred years to recover. The elves would take much longer, though they managed to survive better than eormen.' ' Dhavabnod, already barely habitable, became a land of only sand and fire. Orcs were some of the hardest hit, and to this day, it is thought that the orcs have not fully recovered. Archaeologists have found ancient orc structures that seem to far exceed anything current orc civilization is capable of.' ' Vencaeli, the new continent, was the only one that wasn’t badly damaged. In fact, shortly after the Sundering, Altomine culture thrived and entered a golden era, where it was the only culture still in contact with Oria.' ' Originally both Orlen and Vencaeli were at the same altitude, and connected by a massive bridge. Both continents were protected from the lowlands by a magical barrier. This barrier prevented any living entity from passing through (i.e. those who tried died as they passed through).' ' Years 0-1,000 CE are thought of as a sort of dark ages in the lowlands. During this time, many records disappeared, and civilization seemed to take twenty steps backwards. It wasn’t until the rise of Oriism that a new modern era began to take place.' ' Meanwhile in Vencaeli, civilization slowly began to decay. Historical records are very good during this era, but unfortunately they tend to focus on lineage and don’t give much direct insight for the cause of the gradual decay of Vencaeli civilization. It seemed to be more a case of stagnation than anything else.' In circa 400 CE, it is thought that Vencaeli began to very slowly descend. It is recorded in the year 436 CE that the bridge of Orlen finally broke and fell from the sky, landing in the Emporia River. When this occurred, Vencaeli’s magic barrier was separated from Orlen’s. As a result, Vencaeli became as isolated from Orlen as the lowlands. Vencaeli was still separated from the lowlands as well, though the Altomines had little interest in returning to the land below. ' Back in the lowlands, the various cultures gradually recovered from the Sundering. At the same time, a few new races were discovered, or perhaps began to appear. These were the corrupt mirrors, and all four lowland mirrors are thought to have been discovered by 100 CE. Shortly after, they were already considered commonplace and the eternal rivals of their respective mirrors. ' ' The elves were the first to recover their civilization, doing so by 200 CE. Since then, there have been a few wars, especially between the elves and the vulpen. The greatest of these was also the most recent, occurring in 1,840 CE. The vulpen were beaten back into Cuillte Aonsolas, and since then there has been nearly 200 years of relative peace. Within Codenwellt, there have been occasional wars and power struggles, but for the most part the elf culture has remained quite static and stable.' ' Orc records are rather spotty, or perhaps it’s better to say that they are hidden. The dragon priests are the record keepers, and no one else sees them. Therefore much of orc history is unknown. It is known that a few orc cities had recovered or appeared by 1,000 CE and haven’t grown much since then. Throughout this time, it is believed that orc tribes have been at war with each other and more often the vliskara.' ' Zemy culture is also quite removed from the scrutiny of Chromoria’s most prominent historians. However, it is believed by experts that they had recovered a fair amount by 700 CE, and have made further discoveries and advances since then. Zemy infighting seems to be rare, but a constant war is raged with the mole folk. The zemy had managed to build a tunnel between Juhgoro and Severgoro by about 1,200 CE. This tunnel was quickly lost to the mole folk, then regained recently in 1,953 CE. It is still a very dangerous road to walk, however.' ' Zemy technology and civilization looks strange and foreign to non-zemy, and so research is lacking somewhat. However, it is known that by 1,500 CE, the zemy had developed (or redeveloped) a mass communication relay system that helps hold together the immense and complex zemy nation. In 1,958 CE, this system was extended across the deep umbra tunnel, bringing Juhgoro and Severgoro back into close contact. Surprisingly (or perhaps unsurprisingly, considering it’s the zemy we are talking about), the two sides of the single nation still had much more in common than not.' ' '''The Rise of Eormen ' In some ways, the Common Era could be thought of as the age of eormen, because it is they who have become most prolific. Eormen civilization first bounced back on the coast of Fifelfeorm, and by 1,000 CE eormen again inhabited much of the plains and oceans. A feudal system was created on the plains, while the coast and ocean were known more for fishing.' ' As time passed, the different parts of Fifelwaen began to become distinct. Ocean dwelling eormen began to perfect aquaculture, leaving fishing to the coasts. Many of the non-landowners from Fifelfeorm began to move south to take up land along the banks of the Emporia River.' ' Around the year 1,000 CE, the first texts of Oriism began to crop up among eormen of southern Fifelfeorm and the region soon to be called Deorlen. The religion began to grow in this area, but old eordic religion was still prominent.' ' It wasn’t until about 1,500 CE that the importance of the Emporia River became obvious. Before this time, trade among the various nations was negligible. However, a group of enterprising merchants realized the usefulness of trade between elves, orcs, eormen, and zemy, and within one hundred years Deorlen had become a burgeoning population center.' '''In 1,600 CE, another group of enterprising merchants realized that the bottleneck between the Orlen umbra and Vencaeli umbra was very strategic. They built some tollbooths and walls, and within one hundred years Emporia City was already the largest city in all of Chromoria.' ' By 1,750 CE, most of Deorlen was Orian, and Fifelfeorm was gradually converting as well. Fifelwaen was also now strongly divergent, and though it was still under one rule, the regions of Fifelfeorm and Fifellag were now both semi-autonomous. The plains of Fifelfeorm remained semi-feudal, but the coastline cities began to industrialize and rival Emporia City around 1,900. ' ' In the southern ocean of Adredlag, there has recently been rebellion against the Fifelwaen government. Newly separatist island nations have come into being in modern times.' ' ' ' ' ' '''The Church Ascends and Vencaeli Falls ' Throughout Deorlen’s short history, a merchant oligarchy had ruled it, though the Church of Oria had considerable political and economic clout. In 1,998, the Church managed a popularly supported coup that ousted the merchants as the ruling class and started a theocracy headed by the current High Priest of Oria.' ' Meanwhile, in Vencaeli in the 19th and 20th centuries a group of Altomine separatists gradually left central Vencaeli to inhabit the eastern forest of Canen Sylva. Though initially left alone, the Vencaeli government refused to recognize them as a separate nation, and declared the region’s people as treasonous in 1,988. For the next 10 years, the first true civil war (though still relatively small in scale) in Vencaeli history raged between the Vencaeli government and what became known as the Aether.' ' At the height of this civil war, Vencaeli suddenly felt itself near the edge of another cataclysm. One of the two swords of Aurtos (an important and powerful relic) was stolen from its home in the Tower of Vencaeli. In what few thought to be a coincidence, that same night Vencaeli found itself beginning to descend to the earth much quicker. The continent seemed to crash through its magic barrier and only come to a halt about 500 meters above the lowlands. In the year 1,998, Vencaeli came in contact with the land below for the first time in almost 2,000 years.' ' This world-changing event put the civil war on hold for more than a decade. It did not, however, end it.' ' Contact between Vencaeli and Imas remained scarce for about 30 years, with a few Altomine ambassadors sent to the lowlands, but no lowlanders allowed to the sky. It wasn’t until a resurgence of the Aether and the civil war, along with the support of some charismatic politicians, that Vencaeli opened full relations with the lowlands. In 2,027, a trade charter was signed between Vencaeli and Deorlen. Both nations elected ambassadors, and for the first time in more than 2,000 years a eorman set foot in Vencaeli. Since then, limited numbers of non-Altomine are allowed to visit. None yet are allowed to settle, although intermarriage is beginning to emerge. The government has yet to develop an official policy.' ' At the same time, some groups of Altomines, mostly plebeians and ex-slaves have descended to the world below. Deorlen initially did not have a policy against this, though during the Church’s reign of terror this was not the case.' ' The Purging War ''' Back in Deorlen, the Church began to flex its muscles by altering the makeup of the nation. Merchants began to lose rights, and previously funded artificers and scientists lost their funding to church sects. Overall, the Church’s stance was moderately reactionary. Most people remained content however, and were willing to support the church they had known for so long. ' The Church of Oria saw the Sundering to be Oria’s wrath at the mingling and fighting of the races. They therefore believed that interbreeding between races was unclean and unholy. This did not prevent it from happening however, particularly in areas with many different races, including Emporia City.' ' In 2,031, Sarcero Angueis took the throne of high priest when his predecessor died mysteriously. He rapidly made many changes, allotting himself more absolute control and placing more stringent regulations on the intermingling of races. Half-breeds were relegated to only certain areas of the city, and their property rights and money were slowly confiscated by the church.' ' In 2,033, Angueis declared a holy war on half-breeds, as well as a war to bring more land under Deorlen control. The first city to feel what became known as the Purge was Emporia City itself. Many half-breeds were murdered, and those who survived escaped to cities such as Compitum and Carrmest.' ' Carrmest was the site of the largest battle of the Purging War, where Deorlen forces laid siege to the mountain fortified city of half-breeds. With the aid of some elder(ly) dragons, Carrmest won a decisive victory.' ' In 2,034, Emporia City was attacked by a massive influx of umbra vliskara and goblins. In the midst of the battle, Angueis was found dead at the bottom of his tower. The death was determined to be suicide. With Angueis’s death, the attack on Emporia City, and the defeat at Carrmest, The Purging War reached an end.' ' Before the church could recover, various merchants banded together to regain control of the city. In 2,035, a merchant oligarchy was restored, though a new church that had cleansed itself of corruption (supposedly) remained a member of the council. The city remains under control of various merchants, priests, and gangsters at this point, all fighting for supreme control.' ' The merchant leaders, many of whom half-breeds, have renounced the purge and made efforts to bring the half-breed population back. These have been moderately effective.' The church no longer supports the purge, though many member may still agree with it. The church still has a policy against the marriage of half-breeds though, and anti-half-breed sentiment did not suddenly disappear. Racism is still rampant, though the government that maintains partial control over the city is strongly against it. ' In the year 2,036, an altomine named Beltheos was elected Consulate of the Department of Security. His war on crime, corruption, and racism proved very popular among many Deorlenians, which is in some respects very surprising, considering this is the same city that just recently underwent a genocide.' ' In the same year, events known as Awakenings started to occur, where massive fluctuations of energy destroy entire neighborhoods but occasionally leave a person completely unharmed and in fact more powerful than ever before. Research continues into this mysterious matter.' ' ' ' '''4th Edition Addendum: ' The Fall of Emporia City and the Winter King ''' After making a name for himself, Beltheos swiftly rose to prominence in Deorlen’s political sphere. He began a secret project to develop an incredibly powerful weapon, while simultaneously employing Awakened bounty hunters to collect the artifacts he needed to silence his enemies. ' In 2,038, riots in Fifelwaen sparked a Civil War between the newly elite merchant class and the old aristocrats. The working masses sided with the aristocracy, promised that a return to feudalism would end their suffering at the hands of rich merchants. As a result, the aristocracy began winning the war, with the hereditary king, King Fenrolf, emerging as a powerful leader.' ' Beltheos completed his super-weapon and prepared to use it to destroy King Fenrolf. However, he apparently became mad with power (reports on this vary), and was betrayed/thwarted by his Awakened hunters. The weapon instead fired into the western sky continent, blasting a hole through it that causes sunlight to shine into Moldeburg at dusk. Beltheos disappeared, and hasn’t been seen since.' ' Fenrolf, now unchallenged, conquered the remains of Fifelwaen. He next turned his attention to both Jasbyrn to the northeast and Deorlen to the southeast. In Jasbyrn, the zemy managed to hold off the king, and force the northern war into a stalemate. However, Fenrolf’s war upon Deorlen proved more successful. All land east of Emporia City was conquered.' ' The Long Winter began, as Fenrolf’s magic created longer nights in Fifelwaen. This in turn froze the Emporia River, causing it to dry out. With its main trade route ruined, its leader gone, and its war lost, Emporia City fell into shambles. Criminals took over the city, and those of respectful occupations were forced to relocate to Moldeburg.' '''